


Hopping Along

by PredAndPrey



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, I never know how many of these to use, Moving In Together, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:16:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9855638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PredAndPrey/pseuds/PredAndPrey
Summary: Wildehopps fluffy romance, beginning where the movie left off with the capture of Dawn Bellwether. Judy's life, much like the city of Zootopia, is in a chaotic state. Together with Nick, the two of them will find out where they want their lives to go, learning things about each other the entire way. A friendship blossoms from their moments shared during the Nighthowler Case, and the two learn to live together under their mutual affections. The series will explore their relationship as well as chart a course for their lives that covers the time skip in the film.





	1. Picking Up the Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> scrapped title: Judy's Interspecies Romantic Comedy SNAFU
> 
> ***NSFW warning***: first and foremost I want to get it out there that while this is not smut, there will be plenty of lewd moments...and probably eventually smut. I'll try to mark the chapters that will be entirely sex but I want to convey the idea that a bit of lewdness is natural. Nick and Judy are both adults and are allowed to have dirty minds. Some lewd moments and sexual attraction should not "corrupt" the romantic/friendship themes. Instead I'd like to blend them all into one for a very natural feel for the two main characters. If you are averse to sexual jokes, undertones, perverted thoughts, and downright smut in your fanfics, then I am sorry, this may not be for you. It's kinda mixed in with the fluffy romance and friendship moments.
> 
> Also, please give feedback. This is the most ambitious project I have worked on, and the first multi-chapter series I have decided to create. I want this story to be fun and fluffy; who doesn't like fluff? However, my philosophy in designing this story is the idea that fluffy fics like these are a dangerous line to tread by having nothing BUT fluff. A bad slice of life is just that: a story that gives you nothing but a convincing look on a character's life without anything of importance happening. While I want this series to convey an interesting and realistic depiction of Nick and Judy and their developing relationship, I also do not wish to dawdle and waste the time of both author and reader. I try to make every chapter eventful, as if the two had grown closer, or perhaps even drift further apart every once in a while. I want some concrete event to move their lives forwards in terms of their careers or their relationship. At the very least I want Nick and Judy to end a chapter feeling as if they gained some deeper understanding for the other's personality or manner of dealing with things. By extension, I want the reader to gain something out of each chapter as well. So tell me if I'm doing that right, or any other critiques considering the tone or the content.
> 
> I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very exhausted Judy ponders what to do next.

Judy was staring down Dawn Bellwether. The sheep was only a few uncomfortable feet away from her. Why was she in the ZPD atrium and not behind bars? Bellwether had a wicked grin and began to speak in a voice that was equal parts loud and hard to understand, as if Judy was underwater. She heard the words but it was as if they were floating around her, encircling her.

"We're on the same team, Judy...predators...the enemy...I did like you...I'm...like you."

"N-no," was all that Judy could mutter. Her courage was gone, for she was too addled and confused to fight back, not that Bellwether made any aggressive motions. The sheep just repeated the same words she had heard before about predators and their likeness as prey.

Judy backpedaled until she bumped into what felt like a leg. She spun around and looked up into the scowling face of Chief Bogo.

"Meter maid with delusions of grandeur...shut your tiny mouth now!...hand over your badge...large predators must look dangerous to a bunny"

Judy stepped away from his massive frame, fearful of what he was saying. She noticed that neither of their lips matched their words, as if the words were coming from everywhere but their mouths.

"No, Chief...I'm sorry, I solved the case, right? I'm still...a cop, right?"

Judy was on the verge of tears, and her despair only heightened as she saw more animals appear around her. They all held cameras and microphones. A pig, a tiger, a moose, a wolf, a skunk, a porcupine, a goat, a rhino...the prey species looked angry while the predators looked fearful. This was the press conference all over again.

"Predators are lesser, right, Judy? They're stupid and aggressive. Just like that bully Gideon, right? You're right Judy. You caused it Judy. It's all your fault mammals got hurt in those riots, Judy."

The cacophony of all these voices grew louder and the animals moved in closer. Judy looked up at them and tried to plug her ears but to no avail. Bellwether's grin, Bogo's scowl, the mixed faces of the reporters, the scorn of random ZPD officers: all of these clouded her vision as their voices caused an uproar that caused Judy pain. She began to sob and cast her head down to the ground, wanting to curl into herself and wish that they would disappear.

Her wish came true; without noticing exactly when it happened, Judy came to her senses and realized the voices were gone. 

"Hey, Carrots, are you alright?" came a gentle, familiar voice from above her.

Judy looked up through her teary eyes and saw Nick standing above her with a blank expression. She stood up quickly on very shaky legs and embraced him. Without thinking she threw her arms around his lithe frame and pressed her face into his chest, just like before when she came back to the city to find him. And just like before, she felt a wave of comfort wash over her as she sobbed into him and he held her in his strong yet gentle embrace.

"N-Nick I'm so sorry I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt! I just wanted to help people but I messed it all up. And I hurt you and I'm so s-"

Judy was silenced as she felt a warm kiss peck the top of her head. She could feel her body heat up all over and a blush spread across her face.

"Nick?" she asked, feeling even more tipsy than she did before. Why did Nick make her feel this way? She had missed him greatly and had agonized over hurting him during her time back home, and of course the hug he had given her under that bridge was heavenly. Nick was one of her few close friends; probably her best friend in Zootopia. Their time spent together was short but very meaningful. But why did he kiss her?

"Shhh. It's okay, Judy. Bellwether is to blame, not you. Plus, we fixed everything, remember? I'm so proud of you," Nick gently cooed towards her.

"O-oh? Thanks, Nick," Judy replied, beginning to soften up and gain composure.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Nick asked her in a slightly more teasing voice. He suddenly ceased holding her and began letting his paws wander all over her body. She felt how big his paws felt on her smaller frame. He groped at her butt and squeezed at her side. Judy felt so delicate and feminine under his caresses, his big strong paws having their way with her body; she was merely a plaything for him.

It was seriously turning her on, and she could only moan and allow him to have his way with her.

But...this was wrong. Of course Judy had thought of scenarios like this before, but it was always with that cute, slightly dorky buck from her high school class or some sexy bunny movie star. Why was she reacting this way to a fox? To Nick?

Nick didn't stop, as he began undressing her until she was completely nude. She stood there, uneasy of what would happen next as Nick began undressing.

"Lay down," Nick commanded in a low, steady voice. He gently but forcefully helped lower her to the floor. She looked up from her position on her back to see Nick poise himself above her. He pushed both of her legs up and held them there in order to gain access to her...

 _He's going to...fuck me,_ she thought in a panic.

Her mind was functioning so slowly. This entire time she had felt drunk, and now that she was in Nick's control she felt like putty in his paws. The world made no sense, her mind was clouded by heat and fear. Judy felt like she was spinning and her body felt like it was weighed down. She saw his cock; it was large, red, erect, and had a weird shape. It was different than a bunny's and most certainly larger. The size deeply worried her.

"N-Nick...please...wait" was all that Judy could manage in this shocked state.

"It'll be okay, Judy. I love you," Nick reassured her. 

It calmed her a bit, but she still wanted him to stop. This wasn't right. Judy needed time to think, but that was impossible right now. She could only focus on Nick.

Nick slowly plunged his cock inside of Judy's wet pussy, drawing out cries of pained pleasure from Judy as she was stretched out. She felt a rush of warmth and a tingling sensation course through her with each thrust. They felt slow and powerful. They were too slow; she needed more. Nick obliged by speeding up, causing Judy to become restless, having to move her body along with the waves of ecstasy Nick was creating in her as she was being filled up by his cock. 

"I love you, Nick!" Judy cried out without thinking. It was okay. Even though she felt scared and queasy, she wanted this, and she wanted Nick.

Nick began to gently kiss and lick at her chest and neck while continuing his thrusts. She couldn't stop thumping her foot underneath the bed sheets and she felt a large amount of wetness in her panties. There was a knock on the door and...

and...

_the door?_

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judy awoke with a sudden start as she fell off the bed face-first, catching herself with her arms. After giving herself a few moments to compose herself while staring at the carpet floor, she pushed herself back onto the bed, minding her leg that was still recovering from the cut. If she fell out of the bed completely, that would have really hurt.

There was a knock on the door again.

"Miss Hopps? This is uhhh...housekeeping? I have special instructions to check up on you, are you alright?" came a nervous male voice from the other side of the door.

Judy wrapped the bed sheet around herself as a makeshift robe to cover herself and hobbled over to the door. When she opened it she looked up to see the face of a young, skinny goat greeted her with an awkward smile.

"Hi, Miss Hopps. A Mister Wilde told the hotel to check up on you around this time? He said you were injured, so he wanted someone to bring you food or anything else you needed. So...is there anything I can get you? I'm Brandon, by the way." 

Judy tried to collect herself, still in a groggy state. She processed most of what this goat was saying while recalling some important info. Yesterday she ran around the city, fearing for her life. She and Nick tricked Bellwether at the museum, leading to her capture by the ZPD, and there was a lot of stuff after that. Bogo drove them to the hospital and then back to the station. They squared a few things away before Bogo realized the bunny and fox in front of him desperately needed some rest. He drove the two of them to the hotel, and Nick saw Judy off before heading back to his home last night.

"What time is it?" Judy asked wearily. For all she knew it could be next year. 

"It's about 4 P.M." Brandon replied.

_Sweet cheese and crackers I slept a long time. It felt like such a deep sleep._

"Is there anything you'd like to eat? You're probably really hungry," Brandon asked again.

Judy realized she had been zoning out as she processed her current situation until Brandon's gentle reminder that he still existed. "Oh, yeah, sure. Ummm...just bring me any kind of dinner a rabbit would like. Anything with greens or carrots, maybe a salad? Soup and bread? And a soda; I really need to wake up. I'm not a picky eater, whatever you bring will be fine, just bring like...enough for two bunnies," Judy admitted sheepishly. "Do I need to tip you?" Judy felt as if she was talking really fast to not take up any more of this guy's time with her groggy brain.

"No need, Mister Wilde put forty dollars forward for this, so I guess whatever you don't spend is my tip," the goat replied enthusiastically. "Oh and uh...you don't need any medicine, either, right? You aren't in any pain? I was told to bring you anything else you need on top of food."

"Nope! I'm good! Just the food, thank you so much," Judy politely told him before seeing him off and closing the door to recollect her thoughts.

The goat had completely sidetracked her from the nature of her awakening. She fell out of the bed from a very restless dream. A sex dream. With Nick.

Judy felt herself heat up even more from shame as she climbed back onto the bed and recalled the lingering dream. Judy dipped a paw into her panties and felt around with two fingers. 

_Wow._

Waking up wet wasn't a new experience for her, but this time she was absolutely _soaked_. She must have came really hard in her sleep.

In her dream Nick was in love with her. That dream of Nick is what caused her to orgasm. The entire dream was playing back in her mind now that she was fully awake.

First of all, Judy wanted to slap herself after thinking back to how all of those animals appeared and then disappeared.

_Am I an idiot? Of course that was a dream!_

Aside from the glaring clues that eluded her in the dream world, Judy couldn't argue with the rest of the content of her dream. She is afraid of Bellwether. She was afraid of Bogo. She still regrets her actions. 

She also couldn't help but agree that Nick made her feel better. This was no surprise, Nick was her friend. So why did the dream escalate to sex, and why did she enjoy it?

"It's nothing," Judy told herself out loud and began ranting, "not everything in a dream makes sense. Like how impossible it was for all those animals to appear and disappear. And Chief Bogo made no sense either; I don't resent him anymore like I do Bellwether. I've had dreams where I do ridiculous things that I'd never want to do in real life. So if those things don't make sense, then Nick doesn't need to make sense either. It was just a weird dream, Judy. Nick is your friend. He's a fox, you're a bunny."

Judy let out a slight chuckle at the thought of how ridiculous it all was. She was getting all worked up over nothing; in more ways than one.

Judy jumped as her phone began to ring, throwing her out of her musings. She reached over to the bedside table and looked at her phone screen, seeing that it was Nick calling her. Of all the times for him to call of course it was only a few minutes after she had a wet dream about him.

"Oh sweet cheese and...no, it's not like anyone is around to hear me," Judy paused by taking a deep breath, readying herself for breaking one of her personal rules. "Fuck."

Judy accepted the call.

"Nick?" she asked uneasily, trying not to let any information slip as if he would somehow deduce the impossible.

"Hey, Carrots. You alright? You sound worried."

"I'm just still kinda tired. And hungry."

"I feel you on the 'tired' bit; more like shell shock. I still can't believe yesterday even happened. Do you need me to bring you some food? I thought the people at the hotel would be taking care of you," Nick stated very matter-of-factly, sounding a bit annoyed with the hotel.

"They are, the food is on its way. Thanks for that, by the way, it was smart thinking. I'll pay you back."

"No, you don't need to do that. I just worried about your injury and wanted to make sure you'd be getting assistance," Nick explained as if trying to not dwell on the subject any longer.

Judy felt her heart flutter. He was worried?

Then again, why wouldn't he be worried? She was injured and he was being a good friend. He was just being polite. "Thanks, Nick," Judy replied sincerely.

She didn't like how this conversation sounded, both of them being tacit and adopting a very formal tone. Something was wrong. Were they acting distant towards one another, or was this just Judy's strange state of mind? The latter had obvious evidence, but Judy also believed in the former. While working to stop the Night howler case, they had a goal. They were actively pursuing something and playing off of each other's strengths. Now what were they? Even though they shared some important moments together, she hasn't even known Nick for a week. She doesn't know if they'd get along enough to keep their friendship going without the common goal they had once shared. She doesn't even know if he still wants to be her partner at the ZPD. 

She doesn't know if she could lose Nick.

"Well, I just wanted to check in. Just call me if you need anything," Nick stated, obviously meaning to end the conversation.

What Judy knew for certain was that she didn't want to lose Nick.

"Come visit me tonight?" Judy blurted out without even thinking.

There was a pause on Nick's end before he replied. "So you do need something?" he asked warily.

"I'm just...stir crazy. I slept all day and I'd like to get some fresh air. I might want a little help getting around, though, you know?" Judy lied.

"Alright. I'll be there in half an hour or so. Anywhere in particular we should go?"

"No...anywhere is fine."

"Gotcha. See ya then, Fluff."

"Don't drag your tail, Slick!" Judy teased before hanging up.

Judy placed her phone down and laid back in the bed. She really didn't like this hotel room from the second she entered it last night and she just now figured out why. It reflected her current state of uncertainty. She's fairly certain she's keeping her job, but the details are up in the air. She currently has no place to live. The entire city of Zootopia is just now calming down from the chaos that it had been thrown into, and is currently without a mayor. This stupid room with its tacky green wallpaper was the most certain thing she had right now; and that was upsetting.

Most of all, Judy is uncertain about Nick. Their friendship is very close as of right now, and she can't be certain of how they will be as time goes on. Uncertainty brings fear: fear of falling apart or hurting him all over again. Uncertainty in her own feelings.

But perhaps there was one certainty. Certainty in the ideas of understanding and compassion. Throughout their adventure, the two of them supported and trusted one another. Nick was willing to defend her and she was willing to apologize to him. They had both made each other completely vulnerable before, and they had come out stronger for it. 

Here is a thought: the biggest certainty Judy can rely on right now is that she enjoys Nick's company and wants to spend more time with him. She doesn't need all of the answers right now. There's no need to stress about dreams or their future or even where they're going to walk to tonight. 

She recalled a memory from her childhood where her mother was calming her down. Judy was in tears, completely devastated. The worst thing had happened to her at school: she had gotten a _C+_ on her algebra test! What kind of police station would hire a dumb bunny who can't even remember her order of operations correctly? Her entire future was now ruined! Her mother, trying to console the overly-critical young Judy, imparted some motherly wisdom onto her; sometimes the best thing you can do is keep hopping along. You can't be overburdened by your mistakes and worry yourself sick about the future; at some point you gotta stop planning, go forth, and do your best. Judy had kept this advice close to her heart over the years, calling upon it to soothe her whenever she was overwhelmed with stress. 

_Just keep hopping along and do your best._

Judy smiled to herself and let a wave of calm wash over her as she let go of a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. She could feel her nerves loosen up as she banished the stress away. Maybe now that there are no crazy bioterrorist sheep plotting destruction, she can live the life she's always wanted. Maybe now that she has a close friend by her side, her life in Zootopia can begin for real this time.

Her life had many uncertainties, but she had faith that everything would work out. For now, she has dinner arriving shortly and then a fun walk with Nick. Judy's going to do what she always did and press on regardless, step by step.


	2. Puzzle Pieces Start to Fit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving pretty fast even though all they set out to do was walk.

"So, uh, how was your day?" Judy asked lamely, in an attempt to liven up their walk.

Currently they had been walking five minutes or so down some city blocks that Nick was familiar with, but of course to Judy she had no idea where she was. Apparently the hotel was in the heart of downtown; it was a very big one that catered to mammals ranging from squirrel-sized to wolf-sized. 

After a nice dinner in her room, Judy had met Nick at the front door of the hotel and they exchanged pleasant greetings. He was looking rather nice and casually dressed in a long-sleeved gray shirt and jeans. "The tacky shirt and tie is my 'dad' con outfit", Nick had told her with a grin when she asked. He definitely looked better than she did: since she left Bunnyburrow in such a hurry, her only change of clothes came from Bogo having a female ZPD officer buy her some simple white T-shirts and a pair of cheap black sweatpants. Along with a pack of underwear but Judy was ready to gloss over the fact that this particular coworker would always see her as the bunny she had to pick out cheap panties for.

The walk made her feel a bit better even if there was the faintest of pains in her leg. The doctor had told her she needed to rest it and not strain herself, but a casual walk wasn't out of the question.

But at the some point the walk became unbearably awkward, as she and Nick had nothing to talk about. Nick contented himself with walking by Judy's side, saying nothing and looking around with mild interest, as if keeping watch on the mammals sharing the sidewalk with them at this dusk hour.

"Pretty good, all things considered," Nick replied, "had a bit of a long chat on the phone with my mom, told her how I nearly died multiple times yesterday. Almost gave her a heart attack."

Judy couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Yeah, when I called my parents last night, they were pretty worried too."

Nick nodded. "Other than that I just lazed around my apartment, satisfied that I'm alive. Told Honey and Finnick the abridged version of my adventure. And now I'm escorting a hobbling bunny on a walk for some delicious pastries," he explained, seemingly happy with his plans.

"Oh, so that's our destination?"

"I know of a place just a short while away. It's a place bordering on some pretty unsavory pred neighborhoods for a cute little bunny, but Gina is a sweet old grizzly bear who makes some amazing pies."

"That sounds nice. Don't underestimate this 'cute little bunny' though," Judy replied sweetly, trying to loosen Nick's lips a bit more. In her few days of knowing him, she never saw him being so tacit.

Nick's pace slowed down a bit as they walked down the sidewalk, and she thought she heard him snort lightly. "I definitely learned not to do that. I mean look at you, following a fox you barely know into a place you're completely unfamiliar with. You're too careless to doubt me."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

Judy sensed the shift in his demeanor. He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, as if expecting her to say something rash in return. 

This walk was less fun by the second thanks to Nick, but Judy calmed herself and took this opportunity to set the record straight between the two of them.

"Nick, I'm not being careless, I thought I could put my trust in you. I still think of you as a friend," Judy bit her lip before adding on, "despite how little I know about you. I've been thinking about that too, like, 'what does Nick think of me' kind of questions. I realize our friendship is a bit...premature and was formed under weird circumstances, but I think I have a good feel for who you are..."

Nick crossed his arms and looked straight forward, furrowing his brow slightly. He let a long pause hang over them, clearly not expecting Judy to give such an honest answer. She was really good at catching him off guard with how she disregarded social norms and went straight for the heart, just like in the sky tram.

"Finnick is the friend who helped me find you, right? The fennec? He seemed reluctant to tell me where you were. Even if he's grouchy, I get the impression he's a good friend, right?" Judy asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Nick replied solemnly, "we aren't the closest of friends but we've had each other's backs for a while now."

Judy nodded to show she was listening, "And who is Honey?" she inquired hesitantly.

"She's a badger. Another friend. I've lived with her for a chunk of my time here in Zootopia. Why are you asking about them though?"

"I'm getting to know you," Judy stated plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Nick gave her a glance for a few seconds before laughing to himself at Judy's frank nature. "Okay, here's what you need to know about me: I have a mother, a bunch of people I know but only a select few I would go as far to call friends, a job as a conman, a shitty apartment, and most importantly, an ever-present shitty attitude that gets me nowhere in life. That's Nick Wilde 101."

Judy frowned, "You shouldn't say such mean things about yourself."

Nick shrugged. "Just calling it how I see it," he deadpanned.

Judy put her paw to her chin before replying. "You said you were still a conman so...does that mean you still don't want to be my partner after...what happened?" she trailed off worriedly, heart thumping madly inside her chest with worry.

Nick put his paws up in defense. "You've got the wrong idea if you think I'm saying this to avoid you because I'm still sore, Carrots, we're cool. I'm just being realistic about your offer. When you have a few days on the force for real you'll see that you don't need some dumbass like me dragging down your reputation as the hero of Zootopia. We can still be friends and whatnot but you don't need me taking up space in your life. You're going places and I'll be fine getting along as I always have. Besides, I'm sure the ZPD won't have...me...Carrots?" 

Nick turned around when he realized Judy had not been walking with him for a couple steps now. She had her arms crossed and was looking at him angrily, as if she were pouting.

"You don't get to call yourself dumb, that's my job. You also don't get to call yourself any of those other terrible things, it's not funny, Nick!" Judy scolded him, her voice hot and slightly louder than normal speaking conversation. They both stepped closer to the nearest shop building and out of the middle of the sidewalk, even if the foot traffic was at a minimum right now.

"Whoa, Judy...it's okay. You don't need to get so worked up about it..." Nick replied lamely, clearly uncomfortable at this undesired outcome and attempting to backpedal. 

"You're just as much of this city's hero as me, Nick. You're the whole reason I was able to solve the case and keep my job. You could have gotten me out of your fur forever but you didn't; you stood up to the chief of police just for me, and because you knew it was the right thing to do. If nothing else, you're my hero, and I'm not going to let you tear yourself down like that. The ZPD will take you in like they did their first bunny, I'll go down fighting for you if I have to, just please give it a chance? I wasn't lying to you when I told you that you'd be a good cop, and that I wanted to keep working with you. I don't want you stepping out of my life like this...and I'm sorry if you really can't stand to be around me..." Judy trailed off, her exasperated, ranting anger fading into a stressful sorrow as tears formed in her eyes.

Nick averted his eyes from the imminent waterworks, ashamed that he caused her so much distress. "You're one of the few," he spoke up after a few seconds.

Judy tilted her head and gave a noise of confusion  
.  
Nick sighed before coming out with some honesty of his own, hoping he could dam the flood. "One of the few friends I want to keep close that I was talking about. I'm sorry for saying all that dumb stuff. I just...value you too, okay? You said I'm your hero, and the truth is that you're probably mine. I guess I just couldn't believe that someone so good could be true, and actually interested in being a part of my mess of a life. A part of me doubted you and made me think you were just being cordial by calling me today. You're a good friend, Judy, and you're genuinely nice. And I _genuinely_ feel that you're too good and too naive to be around me."

Now it was Judy's turn to avert her eyes and be speechless. She needed some time to calm down and process Nick's reasoning for his actions, as well as sort out the fluttering feeling in her stomach again.

Nick took her silence as reason enough to end the conversation there before this bunny got him any more emotional. He swore that those teary purple eyes could hypnotize him into giving her his credit card info.

_Why do you care so much, little bunny?_ Nick thought to himself. _When exactly did you start caring for me so much that you'd bother to get this upset over me talking shit about myself?_

"Hey, Carrots, we're almost at Gina's bakery, let's keep moving," Nick gently offered.

Judy gave a subtle nod and began to follow Nick once more, still deep in thought.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bakery was actually in the process of closing, and was vacant aside from Gina and her teenage nephew who was working in the back. However, Gina made an exception to their closing process when it came to Nick. Apparently Gina was an old friend of Nick's mother, Rose. Maybe Nick really did know everyone in Zootopia.

She picked Nick up into an appropriately-named bear hug and joked with him when he ordered a slice of blueberry pie. She was a boisterous lady, but very sweet. The bakery sported a rustic charm with lots of old-fashioned wooden furniture cozily packed together with a fireplace in the corner. The place was famous for its pies and bear claws, the humor of the latter not being lost upon Judy, and was scaled for mammals of Gina's large size. Nevertheless, she sent Nick and Judy on their way with appropriate portions of blueberry pie, carrot cake, two mugs of hot chocolate, and a noticeably happier mood having been in her cheerful presence.

The two had found a bench at a nearby park to sit on. At this late hour, there were some scattered mammals, mostly predators, walking around the park, enjoying the cool evening air. They ate their sweets and chatted amiably, taking in the beauty of the fading sunset. The sky had lingering shades of orange and pink still splicing the horizon ahead of them as the inky blue of the night sky crept behind them and spread out overhead.

Judy was laughing heartily at Nick's story. "You actually said that to her face though? Nicholas, where were your manners?"

"I wasn't thinking! I was like, eight, or whatever. Besides, in bear culture a good amount of fat is attractive. Gina took it as a compliment, but that didn't stop my mom from scolding me and frantically apologizing. All bears looked huge to me anyways, it's not like I had the best perspective being that small."

Judy had wanted to hear more about Gina and she had gotten it. Still, Nick was worried that their conversation from earlier was still bothering her.

"Hey, Judy. I just want to apologize again. It wasn't right for me to say all that mean stuff about myself and talking about staying out of your life. I just kinda was feeling of where we stood, I guess; I didn't expect you to get so upset over it. I promise I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but...I really want to be your friend but...I guess I only did it because...I want something genuine, y'know? I don't want to change my life so drastically just for the foundation to break on me later," Nick admitted solemnly. He was looking away and scratching the fur on the back of his neck the entire time, clearly uneasy at the prospect of opening up further. "Just hope I didn't ruin your walk, is all. Just disregard everything I said back there, chalk it up to me being in a foul mood, alright?"

Judy looked pleased at hearing Nick open up and gently kicked her legs back and forth from her spot on the bench, too high off the ground for the small bunny. 

_I guess asking Nick to change careers would cause a lot of uncertainty and apprehension. I shouldn't have asked so carelessly, he's clearly been in a lot of stress over the idea._ Judy realized.

"No, I understand, Nick," Judy replied tenderly. "I'm okay now. In fact, I'd say this walk was a huge success because I've been feeling the same way. Even if it caught me off guard and hurt me a bit hearing you be so flippant...I don't know. I guess I'm glad you said what you did. I didn't just want a walk because I was feeling restless, I wanted to talk with you and figure out where we stand. It let me tell you some important things that I needed to get off my chest, like how I really want you to stick around. I don't want us to drift apart just because the case is over."

Nick gave a pleased smile at how agreeable Judy was. "All's well that ends well, then?" he joked.

Judy snorted lightly at how far that was from the truth. "Not really. Ever since I woke up today, I have been stressing about how much that case has scrambled my life. At least now I know that you're still with me but...my life is a mess right now, Nick. I'm trying to get you into the ZPD even though I could very well lose my job in the days to come. I've got no place to live ever since I went back to Bunnyburrow, and I hate the feeling of being injured and needing bed rest. My life has always been so simple. Sure, I went against the grain of what most bunnies are expected to do but I always had a set path in front of me. But now...I feel like I don't know what could happen tomorrow. I don't like that uncertainty, Nick," Judy admitted gravely before slumping her shoulders, looking down at the last few bites of her crumbly carrot cake. Her legs began kicking slightly faster, as if she needed to expend some amount of surplus energy inside of her.

She felt Nick's large paw pat the top of her head, and suddenly excitement washed over her, as well as a soothing calm that help put her at ease. Her nose slowed down a bit and her whole body loosened up in the hopes that Nick would be with her to help in the days to come.

"Talk to me about uncertainty when your paycheck comes from mammals buying into your scams and you go home to your badger friend's bunker that isn't exactly legal," Nick offered lightly, giving Judy a warm smirk.

"You trying to say you had it worse than me?" Judy smirked back, looking up at him from her position of being patted.

"Nope. Just saying that what you're going through isn't anything new. It's more like your welcome to adulthood. But if you need help going through it, I'll be there to help. I'm the expert on managing a messy life, remember?"

"And if you need help transitioning into a new career..." Judy trailed off wearily.

"Jeez, you're a bunny with a one-track mind, you know that?...Yes, I'm going to try my best to become your partner. So let's help each other out and get our lives on track together, okay, friend?" Nick stated with a tone of finality, embellishing the act by removing his paw from her head and sticking it out for a pawshake.

"Deal!" Judy replied eagerly, meeting his big paw with her smaller one and shaking up and down vigorously. "I'll bring the contract for you to sign tomorrow," Judy added on with a smug look of her own.

"Ha ha, as if I'm giving you that kind of ammunition ever again," Nick deadpanned, remembering her clever use of that recorder pen of hers.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple minutes later, the two had begun the trek back to Judy's hotel in the dark of the night. Streetlights and Nick's impressive knowledge of the city's layout guided their way back, but it came to a halt rather suddenly as Judy's wincing became mutterings of pain.

"You alright, Judy?" Nick asked worriedly, eyeing her injured leg.

"Yeah, I guess I just underestimated how bad it was hurting. I thought it was manageable on the way here, but I'm starting to get worn out," Judy admitted with a touch of embarrassment. 

Nick bit his lip, debating if he wanted to be bold enough to offer his assistance to Judy. Eventually, the desire to help her won out.

Nick crouched down on one knee and held out his arms. "C'mere," he told her as plainly as he could.

"Wh-what?" Judy looked at him with wide eyes and a tint of blush.

"If you want to tough it out on that leg the entire way back, you can. But if you want a lift, I'll be able to do it for you no problem," Nick explained, trying to sound practical and ignore the voice telling him how many boundaries he might be crossing.

"I-I don't know...I trust you and everything, don't get me wrong but...I just don't like feeling dependent and stuff..." Judy trailed off, frantically searching for a halfway decent explanation as to why the idea made her feel uncomfortable. Not disgusted, but just unsure. It seemed like something inappropriate to be doing with Nick, as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise. 

"No shame in relying on others," Nick offered before standing back up, a bit flustered himself at his offer. "But if you say you can walk, then forget I even-"

"A-actually," Judy piped up, "you're probably right. I need you to carry me back."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence and averted gazes before Nick knelt down once again and Judy walked into his arms. He scooped her up with minimal effort, and positioned her in a bridal carry fashion, although it was somewhat off due to the size difference. A vixen would have a longer back to support and more of a lower body to dangle off; Judy was somewhere between that and being cradled like a small child.

"This isn't too much trouble, right?" Judy asked nervously, tensing up and squirming a bit from being entirely in Nick's control, cradled in his arms.

"Nah, you're pretty light to me," Nick replied just as tense. It was true that their size difference made this an easy feat for Nick, at least physically. Mentally however...he was a bit guilty for how much he was enjoying this.

Judy fidgeted for similar reasons. Nick's paws were touching her thighs, and although they were nowhere near any inappropriate areas and simply performing the function of supporting her frame, she couldn't help but feel something was lewd about the situation.

_It was that stupid dream I had! I wouldn't be thinking this way if it didn't put all these weird thoughts in my head!_ Judy mentally scolded herself.

Judy was heating up all over from the intimacy of the position, and she felt her body stiffen and move away from Nick's touch. She didn't want to lean into his chest any more than she needed to, in fear of creeping him out. There was a light scent of musk wafting into her nostrils, serving only to remind Judy of the embarrassing intimacy they were sharing. This position was nearly the same as the one they took when attempting to flee the museum yesterday, but also so different. Yesterday, Judy and Nick were running on adrenaline, but right now, Judy was able to take in every second of being in Nick's arms. The feeling of being carried, the warmth of his chest, his scent; all of it was right there before her and there was no threat of dying to make her overlook these details.

"You're really strong," Judy commented absentmindedly, hoping she didn't sound too awkward and furiously trying to ignore the musculature of Nick's arms as he held her.

"About as strong as your average male red fox, I guess. When we're cops you can be the brains and I'll just do all the heavy lifting for you," Nick offered jokingly, trying to lighten the tense mood.

Judy laughed lightly at the joke. In terms of the ZPD as a whole, she wagered their real assets would be their small size and agility, not strength. Both of them also proved to be rather sharp in tracking the clues that Bellwether left behind. 

As Judy mused about their lives as ZPD officers, she took a moment to turn her ear and enjoy the sights and sounds on the sidewalk they were walking down. It wasn't the busiest time or place in Zootopia, but still there was a decent bustling of cars and other mammals going about the night. She had already gotten a few strange stares from passerby, probably wondering how she knew this fox. At least Judy didn't look distressed and was clearly conscious, so hopefully nobody assumed Nick was abducting her or anything like that...

"Kinda like when we made a break for it with the briefcase, huh?" Nick spoke up, breaking the silence.

Judy gave a nervous chuckle. "You read my mind. I was just thinking about that a couple minutes ago. I think I prefer this; it's a lot less scary."

Nick seemed to ease up a bit. "It still feels unreal that I did all of that stuff," he muttered with disbelief.

"Yeah, nothing at the academy could have prepared me for some of the things that we did throughout the whole case."

"We had luck on our side too, I think. I can't believe we were able to come out mostly unscathed," Nick mused idly, sparing a glance at her leg. "I think you should stick to trusting me with simple stuff like what we're doing now instead of driving a runaway train car."

"Of course we were okay, because I trusted you then, too." Judy reminded him.

_You know how he is, how he feels about himself. You need to keep reminding him that he's not the bad guy that he keeps joking that he is if he's ever gonna follow through on being a cop,_ Judy rationalized.

Nick felt her whole body ease up as she began to lean into him more. The least she could do is not be so tense in order to show that she trusts him; but now it was Nick who was wound up and overthinking things.

_You really do trust me, don't you Judy?...What have I gotten myself into?_ Nick asked himself.

"Uh, Fluff?" Nick stammered out, unsure of what he was about to say under the influence of this fluttering warmth.

"Yeah?" Judy asked timidly, flustered by how rapid her heartbeat had become. She was becoming a bit too comfortable with this position for her own good.

"You need to check out of the hotel tomorrow morning, right? What about after that?"

"I guess check back in for a few more nights while I look for a new apartment."

"Well I've got a perfectly comfortable couch that I fall asleep on most nights anyways. If you want to use my bedroom and stay at my place until you get back on your feet...you know with money being tight and all," Nick offered tenderly.

Judy was a bit dumbstruck at Nick's boldness. She looked up at him but saw he was averting his gaze away from her. It was rare to see him in this mode, and while the apology earlier was one thing, him being so uncharacteristically open and offering up the sanctuary of his own home to her was something else entirely.

"I mean, I completely understand if you don't want to, some mammals really don't like having roommates and I realize we're not that close yet, so please don't feel bad if you want to turn down the off-" Nick hastily added on as smoothly as he could before Judy cut him off.

"No, I'd really appreciate that, Nick," Judy blurted out without thinking once again. Although technically true; Judy thought that this offer was a big step for their friendship and a rare moment for Nick. Everything else, such as whether it was appropriate or if she should be around Nick given her recent weirdness, Judy did not think about.

Nick looked down at her in his arms and Judy looked up to meet his sparkling green eyes.

"You sure you wanna be around me that much?" Nick asked with a touch of amazement and thankfulness towards the bunny in his arms.

Judy smiled up at Nick. "Of course I do, partner."

_I left my hotel room today so I could find out where Nick and I stand, just going on the desire to see him more. Well you got what you wanted, Judy; you're gonna see plenty of him now._ Judy thought to herself.


	3. The Fox Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit sloppy, but it's home.

"The room is scaled for mammals my size, but you should be able to manage, right? Worst case scenario you have to hop on the counter to open a cupboard."

"Ha-ha. 'Hop' joke. 'Hopps'. Haven't heard that one before."

"Oh. I wasn't even trying for that, but I'll take it."

Once she was carried back to the hotel, Judy had gathered her few belongings from the hotel and checked out. From there, the cab Nick had called took them to his apartment. Nick was in the process of giving her a quick tour of his home, and true to his word, it wasn't lavish in the slightest. The apartment building was old and cheap, much like Judy's previous apartment. However, Nick's apartment was larger, consisting of a living room/kitchen area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The bedroom and the bathroom especially were rather small, but the living room was at least somewhat spacious. Nick had a larger bed, his own toilet, his own shower, a couch, a flat screen TV, a kitchen with basic appliances; this place was definitely an upgrade.

After taking a few minutes to remove some personal items from the bedroom and tidy up a bit, Nick came back to the living room where Judy sat on the couch and started showing her around some more. Every other sentence seemed to be an apology. It wasn't a complete mess but Judy could tell Nick was the type to not bother with things like folding clothes or making beds. Articles of clothing were here and there throughout the living room along with the occasional empty glass. It was at least sweet of him to take shame in it for her sake, but she assured him she didn't mind. Her house growing up was far from orderly, so she was used to it.

"If you get hungry some time later tonight I have enough food that you can eat. Hope you're not above Cup Noodles," Nick asked as he tried to list off anything Judy might need tonight.

"Are you kidding? I ate the worst microwavable steamed carrots in my old apartment. I'll survive. At least here I'll have a stove and a fridge," Judy reassured him. 

Nick was pacing to different points in the living room, pointing out things Judy could figure out on her own. Two windows ran along the wall that contained the kitchen cupboards and counter. Behind that counter towards the rest of the room was an island counter containing the sink. The opposite wall had the TV atop an entertainment center, and across from the TV was the coffee table and couch behind it. There was a lone area in the corner that held a small bookshelf and a fair amount of decent space. Nick explained that his mother told him to put a dining table there but Nick believed it would be a waste of money; the couch and the coffee table was where he and any guests preferred to eat and drink anyways. Judy got the feeling from this anecdote and the lack of decoration that Nick didn't care much for interior design.

"I'll definitely make sure to pick up some groceries for you tomorrow, so just give me a list of whatever foods you need." He spun around to face Judy with a bit of a frantic look on his face. "Anything else that you can think of that you need?"

Judy looked at him with a sincere smile. "Sleep," she stated equal parts gentle and blunt.

Nick gave a defeated sigh. "Alright, I guess I can't keep you out of the bedroom forever. Just try not to judge too much, I know it's not pretty but I promise I'll pick up, wash the sheets, and make things more comfortable for you tomorr-"

"Nick!" Judy had been attempting to interrupt before finally getting his attention. "It's okay! I'm just happy to be here, and I didn't expect you to have the place ready for me or anything; it was a spur of the moment idea. I understand that you don't set up your apartment for visitors-"

Nick let out a laugh. "Ouch, Carrots! That hurts!"

Judy blushed and started waving her paws in front of her, realizing what she said came out the wrong way. "No, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, you're just...on the messy side?"

Nick smirked. "I'm just messing with ya. I'll have you know it hasn't been _that_ long since I've had a visitor like you're implying, and when I did I never fussed over the mess. But you're right, I've been mostly keeping to myself for a while now. It's just you in particular I don't wanna give the wrong impression to."

"Oh, Nick...it's nice, really. I like your apartment. It's definitely a step up from my old one so I can't complain about a little messiness," Judy informed him gently, a bit touched at how critical of himself he was being. "And I'm even getting your bed? Are you sure? I'll be completely fine on the couch."

"Nah, I don't wanna do that to you. And like I said, I fall asleep on the couch most nights anyways. It's nice to fall asleep to a movie and then pick it up where I left off the next night," Nick assured her as politely as he could.

Judy nodded, trying to appear friendly and thankful. "Alright, I guess I'm stealing your bed! I'm gonna turn in for the night; I'm ashamed to admit how much that walk tired me out, but I guess my body still hasn't recovered from all the near-death experiences yesterday."

"You're telling me; my legs still feel like jelly from all the running we did," Nick replied lightly and playfully.

"Have a good night, Nick, I'll see you tomorrow," Judy cheerfully told the fox fiddling with his paws across from her before turning around towards the bedroom.

"Judy, wait," Nick called out to her in a nervous voice before managed a third step.

Judy's heart skipped a beat at hearing Nick call to her like that.

She turned back around to face him with politely questioning eyes. "Yeah, Nick?"

"I have something I've been thinking of ever since you left the city that has been really eating at me and I have to get it off my chest, so just hear me out," Nick explained in the same nervous, almost guilty tone.

Judy's heartbeat only quickened at the possibilities for what he was about to say. She simply nodded for him to go on.

"It was about our first meeting. Or I guess the second, when you caught up to me later that day. At the time you were nobody; you were just some annoying meter maid who was threatening me and getting in my way. Sure you threw an insult or two and just rubbed me the wrong way but...I said some stuff that at the time that was really mean. I just hope you didn't take it to heart, and I'd like to apologize for it now just like how you apologized to me. I don't want you to give up on your dreams."

Judy could feel tears forming in her eyes but she pushed them back. "Nick, of course I forgive you. Based on your actions alone I had already forgiven you for that and I knew that you didn't feel that way about me anymore. Still though, it's nice to hear that you feel that way."

Nick smiled at her and let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. "Oh, and one more thing," he began again, pausing to scratch the back of his head, "if it counts for anything...I thought you were really cool. Of course I also thought you were naive and stupid and a huge pain in my ass, but...on some level I was jealous of you for being able to believe that this city was something that it's not, that it was something better. I found it amusing, but also amazing that a bunny managed to join the ZPD. Even though I doubted you, there's no denying that you stuck up for me and my 'son' in that ice cream parlor. At the time I'd just never admit it to myself, and I definitely wasn't about to admit it to you."

Nick had trailed off towards the end of his speech, and Judy picked up where he left off.

"We both got off on the wrong paw, then," Judy admitted. "I wanted to have faith that you were a good guy, but you didn't give me much to work with. Although I guess if you're counting the very beginning...I was only in that ice cream parlor to begin with because you looked suspicious. You already know about my upbringing and what I was told about foxes, so, sorry about starting us off like that." Judy grabbed her arm and began to worriedly squeeze it. The fox spray incident was bad enough, now Nick knows the entire reason they met was based on her prejudice.

"Well, you weren't _wrong_ about me doing something shady in the ice cream parlor," Nick offered jokingly to the solemn bunny before him.

"You know what I mean!" Judy replied with a chuckle. "Let's just put all of that behind us?"

"Yes please. And thank you for understanding, it really is a load of my chest, you have no idea."

 _I think I kinda do,_ Judy mused to herself, relieved that there were no hard feelings between them.

Judy certainly felt a lot better now than she had earlier. Nick during the walk was so tense, but seeing him fret over his apartment and admit this to her reminded Judy that he wasn't a perfect little angel either. Putting up with him early on in the case was frustrating and he was anything but kind, so of course he would be feeling guilty in the same ways she was. Of course, when push came to shove...

 _I was the one who betrayed his trust,_ came Judy's inescapable reminder.

"Alright. Don't feel afraid to smack me awake if you need anything during the night, okay? I won't be upset, just a bit of a zombie," Nick said, interrupting her train of thought.

"And I mean it when I say I'll be fine, silly fox. I'll see you tomorrow!" Judy replied with a convincing smile, picking up on the obvious social cue to end the conversation.

Nick gave a gentle wave before turning around and walking towards the fridge. Can't live on pie alone, even if it's really good pie.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a quick stop in the bathroom to get ready for bed, Judy entered the door on the left, which was the bedroom.

Nick's bedroom.

Unlike the rest of the apartment, the bedroom at least had traces of personal touch, as if you could glean information about the mammal who owns it. The bed was larger then Judy was used to; definitely more space than a single bunny needed. The comforter was wine red and shoddily tucked in, most likely done during the short time Nick was in here tidying up. There was a dresser and a small closet in the room, and Judy resisted the temptation to look through them. 

On top of the dresser there were two picture frames. One picture was a photo of a smaller, more youthful looking Nick Wilde and an adult vixen. Judy assumed that this was his mother, and speculated that Nick was somewhere around 14 in this photo. The photo was taken somewhere grassy, and the two were well-dressed. They were standing side by side, Nick's mother hugging him with both arms while Nick held her close with one arm and waving to the camera with the other. Judy knew that Nick was tall for a red fox, but she figured his mother must be rather short to be outgrown by her son this early. Her lack of knowledge on fox puberty aside, Judy found the photo incredibly sweet. A mother's love was written plainly on her face, and as for Nick's face, she knew seeing a smile that bright from him was a rare sight. It made her wonder if he used to smile a lot as a kid.

The other photo, however, took Judy a few seconds to understand who was in it. Remembering what Nick said during the walk, the badger in the photo must have been Honey. She was about a head shorter than Nick but definitely bigger overall, being a stout badger. She was full-figured, with womanly hips and a medium bust in the tank top she wore. Her entire fashion style clashed with her very apparent feminine body; Judy applauded her for looking so confident while doing so. Nick was a bit hunched down to her height due to the fact that she had him in a headlock. Honey excitedly smiled at the camera as she smooshed her face as close as possible to Nick's, while Nick gave the camera a lazy smile, clearly accustomed to Honey's antics.

Aside from the information from the photos, Judy learned that Nick has some interest in music, hinted by the acoustic guitar in the corner and a small stack of CDs on the dresser.

Judy decided to end her quick exploration of the room and get ready for bed. She shed the sweatpants and crawled under the covers of Nick's bed. It was more room than she was used to, and pretty comfortable. However, the best part was the smell. Nick wasn't lying when he said he needed to wash the sheets, but she figured he was probably lying about being used to the couch. This bed had too much of his musky scent and felt far too used to give the couch any merit; he just didn't want to put her on the couch for her stay here. Judy didn't mind, as it wasn't a bad smell. It was just a Nick smell, and it was a fragrance she had taken a liking to. Judy wrapped herself in bedding and the fox's scent and before she knew it she was as happy as could be.

It was so odd; any and all apprehension that she should be feeling right now was gone. She should be thinking about her plans for tomorrow but all she could think about was Nick. Judy thought about how it was odd that she felt this at ease in a bed she's never been in before, in somebody else's apartment. She didn't feel like a guest; Nick really made her feel at home.

Her thoughts drifted to different aspects of her day with Nick, such as how she had cleared so much of the air between them and learned so much more about him. In such a short time she felt like they had made some good progress, and really connected emotionally during their talks. Her life was changing so fast, but despite the uncertainties, Judy had to admit that ever since reuniting with Nick her life had been on the upswing. Judy mentally patted herself on the back for all of her actions that got her to this point. Warm, comfortable, and content, Judy met her goal of becoming closer friends with Nick.

She repeated her mantra to herself, deciding to handle everything a day at a time in order to not let the immense stress of her uncertain future crush her beneath its weight. As for tomorrow, she supposed she'd wake up, greet Nick, and go from there. Maybe she'd make that much needed phone call to Chief Bogo, or maybe she'd just take another day off and go shopping with Nick to get some personal items. Surely Chief would call her when he deems it necessary; he was the one who had ordered her to rest, after all. For once in her life, Judy was going to stop overthinking things.

And as she slowed her conscious thoughts and drifted off into dreamland, her thoughts of Nick morphed into a different context. His scent, ever present in the bed, enshrouded her mind and heated her up. It bestowed upon her the most pleasant and protected feeling she ever had while taking her much-needed rest, as well as a wonderful dream that she would not remember in the morning.


	4. Early to Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is that a red rocket in your pocket? (Yes. Yes it is.) 
> 
> Oh, and then they have breakfast or something.

Putting a fair amount of stickiness behind her and not dwelling on why these wet dreams had happened two nights in a row, Judy had a very refreshing shower first thing when she woke up. Nick must have still been asleep, as Judy didn't see him from her trips to and from the bathroom. The walk back to the bedroom in a towel was a bit scary, but she was banking on him being asleep. Plus the towel, kinda like everything in the apartment, was a bit too big for Judy, so she was adequately covered.

After getting dressed in a fresh T-shirt and the same black sweatpants, which only served to remind Judy how desperate she was for her own clothes, she made her way into the living room to wake Nick up, seeing as how it was getting pretty late into the afternoon. As she approached the couch, her eyes immediately snapped towards Nick's crotch.

_Oh my gosh._

At some point during his slumber, Nick must have been hot enough to toss the quilt he was using off of him. This gave Judy a full view of the huge tent he was pitching in his boxer briefs. He was laying on his back, which only made the bulge more apparent given the height it was allowed to reach. He looked completely peaceful and happy as he slept, despite one of his arms hanging off the side of the couch.

_It looks so big and hard._

Judy found herself transfixed on him, heating up and blushing the entire time. She was able to avert her eyes to his upper body, dressed in a plain black tank top and oh so fluffy, or to his long bushy tail that ran from between his legs all the way off of the couch. However, her gaze always came back to the prominent member hidden beneath his green underwear.

 _It's wrong for me to stare. It's bad enough that he's in his underwear. I mean, I know he expected to be covered up by the quilt, but I can't wake him up with his penis like that! I'll just head back to the bedroom and wait for him to wake up on his own._ Judy rationalized to herself.

Upon finally ripping away her focus from Nick's crotch, Judy was a bit too eager to flee from this inappropriate situation. In her haste, she didn't take into account how close she was to the wooden coffee table as she was backpedaling.

Thud!

She landed on her butt and let out a yelp of surprise during her little accident, and tried to stifle it all too late.

The sudden noise was enough to rouse Nick from his sleep, and he quickly shook his head and stood upright. "Huh? Judy?" he called out as he made the motions to stand up. Judy simply froze where she was. His vision was blurred and his world was dizzy for a few seconds from standing up so fast, but Nick soon focused to see Judy on the ground near the table. "You okay?" he asked groggily, glad to see that she wasn't seriously hurt.

"Yes," Judy managed to squeak out in the tiniest voice. She was looking his way, but she wasn't making eye contact.

Nick let out a huge yawn before replying. "You don't sound okay, do you need me to help you up or-" Nick froze mid sentence. The instant he put one leg in front of the other, he felt it. 

Tucked into one leg of his boxer briefs, pressing against his thigh, he could feel it. His sleepy state and Judy's well-being were enough to distract him up until this point, but now he was completely aware of the tightness in his underwear. 

In front of Judy.

Judy could not put the expression on Nick's face into words. It was a look beyond mortification. It was downright horror. His eyes shot open to a size that Judy was pretty sure she saw before as they were being chased by a savage panther.

Much like how Judy had cloaked herself at the hotel, Nick quickly picked up the quilt at his feet in order to cover his entire body.

"Gonna shower," he spat out as fast as he could before briskly shuffling his way around the table and towards the bathroom.

Judy sat on the floor, frozen in place, unwilling to accept the chain of events that had just transpired.

 _Wonder if it'll be a cold shower,_ Judy mused, trying to make light of her first eventful day at Nick's.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short time later, Nick emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a gray tank top that had an Awoo Fighters logo on it and a pair of jeans. His fur looked slightly darker from the dampness, but otherwise he was looking fine. Too fine.

"Hey Nick," Judy offered as warmly as she could in an attempt to test the waters.

"Hey. Want blueberry pancakes?" Nick replied as stoically as possible. And this was Nick, so that's pretty stoic.

"Yeah, I'd love some," Judy replied appreciatively.

Nick wandered over to his kitchen area with purpose and began to get to work, bringing out a frying pan and lighting the stove. As he gathered the ingredients he needed from the fridge and pantry, he let out a bold statement while facing away from Judy. "I am so sorry you had to see that," he spoke loud and clear, trying to sound formally apologetic.

"Huh?" Judy asked, trying her best to sound innocent. "I didn't see any-"

Nick's face was beyond incredulous, as if Judy was trying to convince him that the tooth fairy was real.

 _I guess I really was that obvious. It was worth a shot,_ Judy thought, guiltily retreating back in her seat on the couch.

"Okay, I saw it. Nick, it's fine, really. I don't mind; I mean, I do mind, I don't want to see it-I mean...I wasn't trying to see it but I came in while you were sleeping and-" Judy caught herself tripping over her words more times than she could handle before she had to stop herself. Nick was giving her a nervous sideways glance, trying to get a read on this mess of an explanation she was spewing. She collected herself before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is: that didn't put me off from wanting to stay here. I still like it here. If anything it was my fault for waking you up. It's not like you intended for that to happen, so don't blame yourself."

"Fair enough," came Nick's pensive reply. "I'm just sorry that it happened, then."

Judy frowned at how somber he was being. But Nick had the right idea, Judy thought, and she should just move past it with him. Do something to change the subject.

"Do you have any cinnamon?" Judy asked suddenly. "I think they'll go alright with the blueberries. I usually like my pancakes to have cinnamon, but they're usually banana or carrot."

"Sure do. I'll try not to stub my toe," Nick replied, a bit more cheer apparent now that they weren't talking about his morning wood.

"That'll be hard, I love cinnamon," Judy replied. Her eyes widened a bit when Nick opened his cabinet. It was not as barren as the rest of the apartment would lead her to believe. "Whoa, Nick, you have a lot of spices," she said in awe.

"Once again; ouch. Shocked that this single mess of a fox can cook?" he joked dryly.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Judy retorted, sounding like this was becoming a stock phrase for her. "Lay off the self-deprecating humor, maybe? But seriously, it's pretty cool that you can cook. I always hated cooking and have actually been worried about living on my own. My mom always wanted to have cooking sessions with me and my sisters, but of course I went against the grain and never wanted to attend."

"Sounds par for the course for the first bunny cop's background," Nick offered while making their pancakes.

Judy gave a strained laugh. "Yeaaahhh...I had a really embarrassing phase where I had to pretend I couldn't be girly just because I wanted to be a police officer. I forced myself to give away my plushies and dolls and practically anything pink. I even started wearing boy clothes. I'm glad it only lasted a couple years before I stopped trying to be something I wasn't. I'm a police officer, but I still like my plushies and my cute clothes, you know?"

"You _still_ like your plushies?" Nick asked teasingly.

Judy hesitated momentarily upon realizing she had let information leak before bucking up. "Yeah, I still have some. That an issue?"

"You snuggle them to sleep?" Nick asked, shooting her a sly grin.

Judy was reminded of the fox plushie that was left in plain view on her bed back home, which cuddled her to sleep at night as she whispered apologies to it. "Yeah, I do," she stated boldly.

Nick gave an earnest laugh that was nice to hear, even if it was at her expense. "I love that, Judy. I'm glad you stick up for yourself, I think that's really cool. Don't stop liking plushies just because someone else thinks you shouldn't," Nick admitted, apparently not at her expense.

"Really?" Judy inquired.

"Really. I like people who can be themselves no matter what others think. Finnick and Honey are two of the most eccentric mammals I know, and I think I just added another to the list," Nick told her earnestly while sprinkling in blueberries.

"Let's be real, you added me to that list a while ago," Judy retorted playfully, drawing a nod of agreement from the preoccupied fox.

A couple minutes later, the pancakes were done. He placed the plates on the living room table, and they both sat on the couch together to eat. Judy had helped by pouring each of them a small glass of orange juice. The pancakes looked delicious, drizzled with maple syrup and topped with a bit of margarine and blueberries to compliment the blueberries inside each stack.

"Nick, these look so good," Judy mused before spearing her first bite and placing it in her mouth. It was sweet and fluffed to perfection. The cinnamon was weaved into the fluffy interior and the blueberries inside were so gooey and sweet from the cooking process. The blueberries on top were a nice contrast, a bit on the sour side and not nearly as good as her family's blueberries, but still good. "They taste so good," she said in awe.

"They're just pancakes, Carrots," Nick retorted with a smug grin, "but thank you for the compliment, I'm touched."

"Okay, I gave you a story and now you gotta give me one; how did you get so passionate about cooking?" Judy asked smugly, expecting something good.

"Story for story? Is that how this works?" Nick asked jokingly, amused by Judy's serious tone.

"Yep. That's how we'll learn about each other from now on," Judy stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeesh, you should have been a lawyer, Carrots. Alright, I'll tell you. 'Passionate' is a strong word, it's just a hobby, experimenting with new recipes and not wanting to eat the same things for my whole life. But if you really want to know, I learned from my mom," Nick stated equally as matter-of-factly.

"I guess I should have prepared myself for a short story," Judy finally admitted after a slight pause. "That's still really sweet, though."

Judy gave Nick a warm smile before returning to her breakfast, and Nick moved himself to go on, despite his best judgement.

"Actually...there is a bit of a story to it," Nick began tentatively before catching Judy's curiosity from wherever it had retreated to. "When I was in high school, I started feeling really down. I felt like I didn't leave my room much unless it was to go to school or to cause trouble with a bunch of kids that I ran with. My mom worked and was our sole source of income. It had been that way ever since Mr. Renard left us," Judy took note of this. She assumed that this was Nick's biological father, and that his last name left with him once Ms. Wilde became his sole guardian. 

"All she wanted to do was spend some time with me," Nick continued on, "but I was just being so...I don't know, selfish and hateful I guess. It was really hard for both of us. I knew I felt like shit, and I'm sure she missed the days where I'd spend all my time by her side. She dealt with it though; she'd ask me if I wanted to talk or go somewhere for fun, but I always turned her down. I expect she chalked it up to me just going through a phase and let me go my own way, even if she didn't like it."

Nick looked to Judy up from his plate of pancakes to see that he had her undivided attention, and she gave him an encouraging nod. He took a deep breath before continuing. "That stopped soon. I had been in a handful of fights before, and thankfully I had won pretty much all of them. I'm big for a fox and I knew how to be quick and smart in those fights, so I was able to get out of them mostly unscathed. She knew I was getting in these fights because I still got some minor injuries, but I only rebelled if she lectured me about it or grounded me. So she let it go. Until I got my ass _beat_. The guy was a timber wolf, and a big one too. It was dumb of me to punch that high above my weight, but I got goaded into it. He was too strong, and damn quick too. I limped away from that one being supported by one of my delinquent buddies. I had a black eye, bruises and scrapes all over, a bloody nose, a few decent cuts, and a lot of pain. When I got dropped off at my house, my mom treated my wounds. She was in tears; absolutely devastated. She poured her heart out to me about wanting me to stay home more, and that she missed me and was worried about me." Nick paused to let out a slight laugh, "For as much as that wolf beat me up, nothing hurt as bad as knowing I had hurt my mom like that. I started crying too, and she made me promise to start spending time with her. And we spent that time, you guessed it, cooking things together. Dinners, desserts, breakfasts...she taught me all I know about cooking. These days we still end up cooking things together most of the times when I go to visit her. Eventually I straightened up my act, got a part time job in those last few years of high school to help her out, and promised not to make her worry so much. So far I think I've done...okay at that last bit."

Judy looked at Nick in awe, unaware that his childhood was like this. The entire time he told the story, and even right now, he looked a bit tense. "Nick, that's...a really sweet story. I mean, it had a lot of sad bits too, but...I'd say despite that you're really lucky to have a mom like yours. It sounds like she really cares about you."

Nick nodded. "She's always been there for me, and I owe everything to her. I always try to get her nice gifts and save away money in case she ever needs it. She still insists on working; retirement would be barely feasible for her economically, but she likes to stay active. She says it's good for her health."

Judy smiled warmly at Nick. "It sounds like you care about her a lot too."

"How did you figure that one out, Detective Hopps?" Nick asked in a mocking tone.

"Hush," Judy retorted, giving Nick the lightest elbow possible. He stiffened up a bit at the contact, shying away from it briefly before returning to his meal. Judy winced at her failed attempt, choosing to push past it. "Anyways, I'd love to meet her if you ever plan on visiting her soon."

"Mmh," Nick agreed before swallowing his food, "yeah, I usually end up going at least twice a month. Unless it's a holiday I just go whenever I'm in the mood. I'm sure she'd like to meet you and learn what I'm about to do with my life."

"You think she'll be happy? My parents never really wanted me to be a cop. They always supported me financially, but at every turn they made sure to try and encourage me to be anything else," Judy thought back to her own dealings with career choices.

"Hmm, I'm sure she will," Nick trailed off, taking a sip of orange juice. "Hey, enough about me, you still need stuff. Do you wanna come shopping with me so you can pick everything out?"

"Definitely," Judy flowed with the change of subject, remembering how desperately she wanted some new clothes and other personal items. 

"Wanna go in an hour? I still wanna do a few things around the apartment before we go, it's driving me crazy."

"Okay. That should give me time to call my parents about bringing my stuff from home, as well as a call to Chief Bogo," Judy replied.

"Roger that," Nick said with a grunt, standing up and collecting their empty plates and glasses.

"Hey, Nick," Judy caught his attention on the way to the sink. "I liked hearing your story. I'm glad you shared it with me," she told him earnestly.

Luckily, she saw Nick's figure loosen up slightly, and a genuine smile flittered across his face for a second. It was a rare sight for Judy to see, but it was there. It was the kind of warm smile that made you feel all fuzzy inside knowing that the owner was comfortable and happy around you.

"Thanks, Carrots," Nick replied in a gentle tone. "I like your stories too. You should tell me more sometime."

Now it was Judy's turn to wear that warm smile as she walked back into the bedroom.

 _This was good! Nick and I are becoming such close friends! I'm glad I can enjoy his company this much; it's much nicer here in Zootopia to have a friend I can talk to,_ Judy mused to herself absentmindedly, unsure of why the progress of her affinity with Nick was important to her. 

The reverie was ended by an abrupt reminder that she had some important phone calls to make before going shopping with Nick. Despite spending so much time with him in the past few days, Judy was not tired of it in the slightest. As hectic as things were right now, Nick's companionship made it feel like an adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter I binge-post. Ch 5 is not written yet. Stay tuned! Give feedback on any chapter you wish.
> 
> "Stub your toe" is a phrase meaning to use too much of a particular seasoning in a dish.


	5. Mint Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our duo goes shopping to buy stuff Judy needs for her stay at Nick's place. Judy is caught off guard by someone she meets while at the farmer's market.

“I feel like I’m back home!” Judy exclaimed to Nick.

Nick let out a short laugh. “You may be a cop now, but you’re always gonna be a farmgirl at heart. Aren’t you, Carrots?”

“Mhm!”

The two had just arrived in view of the farmer’s market in Nick’s side of town. Judy still felt a bit awkward next to Nick. He looked presentable in his concert tank top and fitting jeans. More than presentable, he filled out his clothes really well and looked stylish while doing so. The tank top complimented his figure and showed off his arms and showed off just the right amount of fluff around his chest and neck. Pretty good. She assumed. For a fox. Meanwhile, Judy was wearing a slim-fit white T-shirt and black sweatpants. Somewhere in her head Judy filed away a reminder to wash her pink flannel and her jeans so that she had something nicer to wear the next time she went out. She was dressed to the twos rather than the nines right now, but she tried hard to stoke her confidence by telling herself that at least she was naturally cute. She was always complimented for her “natural” look by the girls in school who knew more about fashion than her, so she decided to take their words on it.

Judy tried to tone down her expectations for what a farmer’s market looked like after living in Bunnyburrow. This assembly of stands looked like something the outdoor markets in her hometown would eat for a light snack. Then she remembered that a compact city like Zootopia had to make do with the space they had. 

Nick had explained that most mammals shop at grocery stores and supermarkets for their produce, and usually Nick was most mammals. When he wanted to cook something nice, however, he liked to shop here for some higher quality produce, especially blueberries, as well as enjoy the atmosphere of the friendly market.

And quite the atmosphere it was. There were crates upon crates of fresh fruits and vegetables. The smell of vegetation and life was a much appreciated far cry from the acrid smell of a Zootopian gridlock to Judy’s nose. Late afternoon was slowly turning to dusk, and the setting sun beat gently down upon the tarp roofs of each stand in the market. Judy found the square to be surprisingly crowded as many paws beat past her on the pavement, and she found herself constantly bumping into the furry legs of larger mammals. 

“It’s pretty crowded,” Judy said to Nick, raising her voice above the quiet roar of the crowd. As a small mammal in Zootopia, you learn to make your voice carry.

Nick was already tuned into her and heard her voice just fine. “It’s usually not, I guess everyone is just relieved that the savage attacks are over,” he replied idly, stopping them at a carrot stand. “All these little bags full of little bunny supplies aren’t making walking through this crowd any easier,” Nick teased.

He was right. They both were carrying multiple tote bags and a few plastic bags full of supplies from Z-Mart, and they were becoming tiring to carry around. A toothbrush, a few more articles of clothing, some personal hygiene items; everything Judy couldn’t stand to go another day without. 

“Woe is you,” Judy replied with some snark of her own. “Thanks for carrying them, though. You look pretty loaded up, do you need me to take some?”

Nick shrugged, long arms draped with multiple bags. “Nope, I’m fine. You need room to carry whatever we buy here home, though.” 

Home. The word resonated like the most wonderful chord. Her pretty little room in Bunnyburrow used to be home, and she supposed it still would be if she ever needed it. Her not-so-pretty apartment in Zootopia was intended to be a home for some time, but now she had a new home. Maybe the living arrangement wouldn’t last long, but there was an idea in the back of Judy’s mind giving her comfort ever since Nick had invited her to stay over: if she had Nick, she’d have a home and someone she could count on. Home was a feeling, and as long as she was with Nick, that feeling was always present inside of her. He was always warming her up; her own personal hearth.

Nick looked over the produce at the stall in front of him with a discerning eye. “Which carrots look good to you, Carrots?” he asked teasingly.

Judy couldn’t help but audibly groan at the joke that snapped her out of her reverie. She stood on her tiptoes and began selecting the highest quality carrots; she had a bit of a history with carrots to say the least. The middle-aged lynx woman behind the counter smiled at the two of them and exchanged some pleasantries while informing them of the prices.

“You mean whatever _you_ buy here, by the way,” Judy spoke up as she handed over the carrots to the lynx vendor for purchase.

“And _you_ better not be counting,” replied Nick. “Seriously, it’s fine. You can pay me back if it makes you feel better. Or you can just pay me back by not bringing up money ever again. It’s not your fault you sped off in that clunker of a truck under the conditions you did.” Nick cleared his throat and began speaking with a higher-pitched voice: “Oh, I just figured out that predators are being targeted by a drug that makes them go crazy; better pack my suitcase!”

There was a pause where Judy simply stared at Nick. “Was that supposed to be my voice?” She was reminded of his impression of her upon their first meeting. Something about a cute fuzzy-wuzzy little tail.

“I never claimed to be good at impressions,” Nick replied.

Judy sighed. At least he was enjoying himself as opposed to being all tense and quiet. “So you can’t do a good impression of me and you plan on only feeding me carrots? Tsk tsk. Such a terrible host, clearly doesn’t know a thing about bunnies.”

“Oh hush, we were heading towards the greens next. Don’t lie though, you’d love to be on an all-carrot diet.”

“No way I’d do that to myself! We love our carrots but we need to have them in moderation. Feed me only carrots and you’re buying me bigger clothes.”

Nick simply smiled at their banter and led Judy across the aisle to the greens, the two of them weaving their way between other mammals the entire way. Judy was smiling too. She had been smiling a lot today; it was almost her default expression at this point.

The stall they arrived at had ingredients for any salad imaginable: endive, kale, romaine, dandelion… Judy’s mouth watered at the possibilities. The owner of this stall was a rather tall rabbit, and Judy tried to see if she recognized his farm’s name. She didn’t, so she assumed the buck must be from a smaller farm, or potentially another town entirely. Judy noted that he was nearly the same fur color as her and had a unique set of hazel eyes.

“Good evening, you two!” The rabbit said to Nick and Judy. “Just ask me if you need anything. Oh, by the way, the kale is on sale. Nothing wrong with it, just not the biggest seller here at market.”

“You have such a great selection here,” Judy replied while busying herself with picking out various veggies, “and they all look high quality.”

The bunny smiled at this praise. “That’s very kind of you to say, miss. Where are you from? If you don’t mind me askin’ that is.”

“Oh, I’m from a farm family in Bunnyburrow. My family has been carrot farmers for generations, but I’m familiar with all kinds of crops.”

“Well that only makes your praise all the more meaningful! Thanks again. I’m Cody, by the way. Our family farm is located just east of here in Warrensville. Not as big as Bunnyburrow way out west, but just as dedicated to farming. I definitely prefer working here as opposed to back home, though. City life sits alright with me, and I enjoy working with all the customers I get here.”

_Comforting to know that even in Zootopia I can find bunnies like me. He seems like a nice guy, like a lot of the bucks I grew up with back home,_ Judy thought to herself.

“I’m Judy, and this is my friend Nick,” Judy said. She looked up to Nick and noticed he had a slightly sour look on his face. He seemed to be in a good mood just a few minutes ago, but now he looked bothered.

“Nice to meet you,” Nick said to Cody, “sorry if I don’t have much to add to the conversation about rabbit food.”

This got a chuckle out of Cody. “’Sall good, Nick. So, you from around here? I don’t think I’ve seen either of you before,” Cody inquired, leaning in over the counter a bit now that introductions were out of the way. It may have been phrased as an inquiry for the both of them, but Cody’s fixation on Judy betrayed his interests. Nick decided to walk a few steps away and distract himself with looking around the market.

“Oh, Nick lives near here. I guess I do too as of yesterday. I just moved in with him, so we’re out shopping for food that I can eat. He wasn’t exactly stocked to feed a bunny,” Judy replied distractedly while debating a serious decision between romaine and dandelion. Nick raised his ears upon hearing this.

“Oh… that’s nice. I hope you both stop by again!” Cody replied. The warmth in his voice was still there but it faltered and fell flat. Surprise and disappointment swam under the surface of his visage, wind firmly out of his sails. Judy didn’t notice. She made her purchase of leafy vegetables and exchanged a bit more small talk with Cody. He told her a few things she wanted to know about the farmer’s market and kindly bid her farewell.

Nick led Judy in the direction out of the market and towards his apartment. She seemed pleased with herself, humming happily as she walked along next to him with a plethora of fresh food.

Judy stopped in her tracks and pulled on Nick’s tank top to get his attention. “Wait, Nick! I wanna get one more thing while we’re here.”

“Oh?” Nick replied.

“Yeah, I wanna buy you some blueberries.”

Nick felt his body attempt to stiffen up as if suddenly drenched in cold water. “Oh?” he asked again, this time with dread in place of curiosity.

“Yeah, I still have some money on me in my wallet. I wanna get something for you since we spent all day getting stuff for me. I can get something else if you want.”

“No, blueberries are good. Thanks, Judes, that’s really nice of you.” 

At least his feelings towards her gesture were true, but going to the blueberry stall wasn’t on the menu for today. Good thing there were probably other stalls that sold blueberries.

“I think there are some towards the back-“ Nick said before his tank top was tugged by Judy again.

“No need, there’s one right over there!” Judy exclaimed, delighted to have seen the vibrant sign so quickly.

Before he knew it, Nick was the one being led around for the first time today as Judy walked briskly over to _her_ stall. It was a modest stall like any other but it looked incredibly well organized and was furnished with two beautiful planters of violets.

“Just what the doctor ordered,” said the female fox behind the stall. Judy stood across the counter from the vixen, a bit perplexed, before realizing that she was calling out to Nick. 

Nick sauntered up to the counter lazily and stood next to Judy. “Hey, Vi. Rough day?”

“You don’t know the half of it. I had to deal with some opossum kids who were stealing blueberries from my cart. At first I just had to tell myself that a few blueberries weren’t worth the hassle, but then these little brats did it _again_. So I had to confront their mother and that was a huge pain because of course her beautiful little _angels_ would never steal anything! Later in the day some rude old ewe started haggling prices with me and I had to remind her that we weren’t in The Stone Age anymore. Thirty berries for one sharp rock! I could go on about other minor shit that happened but ughhh…” Violet put her elbows on the counter and began rubbing her temples. “Not gonna bore you with all that, though. So that was my day. How was yours, hon?”

_She calls him hon? Maybe she calls everyone that,_ Judy thought to herself, a bit intrigued. 

“If you had asked me that a couple days ago, I would have a _really_ crazy story for you. But today was pretty relaxing. Shopping for my friend here,” Nick replied with a nod towards Judy. “Violet, meet my good friend Judy. Judy, this is Violet.”

Violet narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly down at Judy. “As you may have gathered by now, I’m Violet. Nice to meet you, Judy. And yes, after your parents name you after a flower, you don’t have much of a choice but to like that flower.”

_Foxes always look so pleased with themselves,_ Judy thought to herself sourly. Violet was beautiful, at least Judy imagined she was within the culture of foxes. The first thing Judy noticed was most likely her namesake: her eyes were a light violet color. She seemed about half a foot shorter than Nick and roughly Nick’s age. She had a curvy appearance, with most of her weight on her rear (Judy could relate). However, she carried some on her chest and thighs as well. Her fur was even more vibrant and fiery than Nick’s, bordering on hints of red. She also had longer fur, which looked less rough than Nick’s and a lot softer and silkier. She wore a pink tank top with slim-fitting, ripped jeans.

“Nice to meet you too,” Judy replied just as brightly. No, brighter. She was being way more friendly than Violet. She was winning. “I think violets are beautiful and they make for a beautiful name. Nick joked about knowing everyone in the city, and as time goes on it’s starting to seem like less and less of a joke.”

Violet let loose a hearty laugh and Judy forced herself to laugh along. “Thank you so much, Judy!” Violet said. “And as for Nick, I don’t know who else he knows, I just know he’s been loitering around my stand for a couple months now.”

Judy felt herself tense up. That tone was way too familiar for her tastes.

“It’s not loitering if you don’t ask me to leave,” Nick replied smugly, earning a sly smile from Violet. “Anyways, I’d love to stay and chat but it’s getting kinda late, we’re just here for some treats before heading back to my place.”

“What’s the occasion?” Violet inquired.

“We’re roommates. It’s a new arrangement,” Nick replied nonchalantly.

“Very nice. One box?” Violet asked, equally nonchalant.

“Make it two,” Judy interjected. “Unless you want something else, Nick? Do you like blackberries?” she asked with a saccharine voice.

“I do. Go on and buy some if you want,” Nick replied.

Violet processed the order, moving berries to box for the two to take home. She chatted idly with Nick while Judy stood of to the side and listened, ears only a little bit droopy.

“So, Nick,” Violet said after a natural pause in small talk, apprehension apparent in her voice. “You’ve been loitering-“

“Visiting,” Nick corrected her.

“Around my stall for a while,” she continued, handing the bag of berry boxes over to Judy before slinking out behind the counter to stand next to Nick. “The scenery is getting pretty boring. Would you like to maybe meet somewhere else sometime? I’m always looking to try out new restaurants.”

Her voice had that lighter-than-air quality when she said this. Each word seemed to dance into the next, flowing out so tantalizingly. It was tempered interest. It was measured sweetness.

It made Judy want to vomit.

Her blood began to boil and battery acid flowed through her veins. The way that this vixen stood next to Nick, swishing her tail and batting those hopeful purple eyes at him was so strangely frustrating.

She wanted to push Violet away from him. Rather, she wished that she could be a vixen. Judy thought to herself that she’d be the cutest- no, the _sexiest_ vixen there ever was. She wished she could morph into a female fox right at that very moment. She’d saunter up next to Nick and lean against him, maybe grab onto his arm to further assert ownership.

_If I was a vixen she wouldn’t be so bold. If Nick came to her stall with a pretty vixen and told Violet that Vixen Judy was his new roommate she would think something completely different. She wouldn’t just hand me the bag of berries and brush me off to the side like I’m not even here. All she sees is a dumb bunny in ugly clothes. I’m not her competition._ Judy’s mind was a swirling vortex of venom. She couldn’t stop the flow of petty, loathing thoughts. Violet had done nothing to wrong her. She hadn’t been mean. And yet she managed to belittle Judy so badly that she was slowly approaching microscopic size.

But she was all over Nick. And therein lies the problem that Judy can hide from no longer now that Violet has brought it to the forefront of her mind.

_I don’t want another girl coming between me and Nick,_ Judy admitted to herself.

“I can’t,” Nick replied after a brief pause. “Well, I want to, but I really shouldn’t,” he amended.

A wave of relief crashed into Judy and nearly knocked her over into ecstasy. She didn’t realize she was holding in so much breath until she exhaled it upon hearing Nick’s rejection of Violet’s advances.

Violet simply tilted her head, waiting for him to elaborate.

“See the bunny?” Nick asked rhetorically, causing Judy’s stomach to flutter. “I kind of promised her that I’d become a cop. It’s a long story, but it’s something I really want to do for myself after she introduced me to the idea. So my life is about to get really chaotic and busy. Sorry to bring this up so suddenly, but a sudden development. I’m not gonna have much time for… loitering with you somewhere else,” Nick explained.

Violet picked up on his careful word choice at the end and gave an amused exhale from her nose. “You can call it a date, Nick. I was asking you out,” she deadpanned.

“Yeah, sorry, but I can’t. I don’t think a relationship is right for me right now. I enjoyed getting to know you, and I’m really flattered that you asked me out, if that’s worth anything to you,” Nick said.

“I enjoyed getting to know you too, Nick. And you can keep stopping by if you want. You’re good people.”

“Plus I’m just _way_ too old for you,” Nick said jokingly.

This earned a very real laugh from Violet. “Oh come on, you’re what, three years older?”

“That’s an eternity. I’ll need a cane before you know it.”

Violet just laughed some more and patted Nick on the shoulder. “Yeah, we’re fossils, the both of us. Kinda makes you wonder where all the time we pissed away went, yeah?”

“Thirty-two years and nothing to show for it. Spent all my time kicking up the same old dusty streets,” Nick replied wistfully.

Violet squared up and gave Nick a serious look. “Hey, you’ll have a badge sometime in the future, right? That’ll be something worth showing off. I hope that works out for you, Nick.”

“Thanks, Vi. It means a lot. And your work speaks for itself, so don’t you worry about having nothing to show.”

Violet gave a sly smile and a wink. “I’ll always have my green thumb. Enjoy the berries, you two. It was nice meeting you, Judy!”

Judy was brought back to reality and remembered that she was, on some level, a participant rather than a spectator in this whole scene. “You too, Violet. Have a good night!”

With that, Nick and Judy enjoyed a very pensive walk back to the apartment.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Judy was busy putting away all of the items they bought at Z-Mart in Nick’s room, trying to organize everything in her own way that wouldn’t intrude on Nick’s current setup. Nick had the task of putting away the rabbit food in the fridge, reorganizing everything to be more space efficient. Things had been quiet ever since the market, with only a small amount of chatter.

“So how did you like the market?” Nick asked Judy once she entered the living room-kitchen area. 

“It was really nice,” Judy replied, hoping he wouldn’t bring up Violet.

“Remind you of home?” Nick asked, his back to her as he stored the food.

“Yeah. It was a lot of fun and was really interesting to see one in a city,” Judy replied. She laid down on the couch and stretched her aching legs. Another night of rest must have really helped her injured leg; she would be good as new soon. “Hey, Nick, this might be a dumb question but-“

“But you’re gonna power through it?” Nick asked jokingly.

“I’m serious, don’t make fun of me or take this the wrong way,” Judy said warningly.

“Alright, I promise I won’t, Judy,” Nick reassured her tenderly

Her heart fluttered at hearing him say her name in such a caring tone. 

_This dumb fox can go from jerk to sweetheart in a matter of seconds,_ Judy thought to herself.

“It was interesting to see so many predators there as both farmers and customers. It’s just something I didn’t see a lot of in Bunnyburrow,” Judy admitted.

“Farming is just an occupational bias I guess. It’s not like it takes a prey to grow something. Customer I can see being a bit weirder to understand. Some preds can have a taste for vegetables, even if most of the time it’s just to cook them in a dish with a bunch of other stuff we like a lot more. They can add something to a meal if you cook them the right way. And of course fruits can make for a good snack; you know by now that I’m a blueberry addict.”

“I bet you already ate a whole box when I wasn’t looking,” Judy teased.

“Of course not! I was waiting to eat them with you,” Nick replied in a tone of mock hurt. “Wanna eat some now?”

“Sure, bring the blackberries too.”

Nick sat down next to Judy on the couch and placed the two boxes on the coffee table. Together they leaned over the table and snacked on the berries in silence.

“Not as good as my family’s, but they’re still pretty good,” Judy said proudly.

“Poor Violet, runner-up to the Hopps family farm,” Nick said dramatically.

A twinge went through Judy thinking back to Violet, which made her think of the emotional dumpster fire that was burning somewhere within her right now.

“Hey, Nick. You were right about what you told her,” Judy said boldly.

“You think?” Nick asked.

“Yeah. Becoming a police officer is really time consuming. I feel bad because I still haven’t talked to Bogo about you, but we’ll figure out a way to get you in the academy. And when we do, I’ll help you study and train so you can pass and become my partner.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Nick commented while popping a blackberry into his mouth.

“And we should make a deal while we’re at it,” Judy said, venturing further into overstepping their boundaries. It was the only way to stop her nerves from fraying any further after the Violet incident. “I think that until you’re a police officer, or at least for as long as we’re living together, neither of us should get too distracted.”

Nick digested Judy’s offer for a few moments. “You mean dating?”

“Or just like, you know, going out a lot. Finding a new and distracting hobby that gets in the way of our goal.”

“…So you mostly mean dating, right?”

“…Yes.”

Nick took a few more moments to think to himself. 

_He didn’t like that. He thinks I’m being controlling. Why did I open my big, paranoid mouth?_ Judy internally berated herself.

“I agree,” Nick stated. “Especially for the living together part. It’d be inconvenient if one of us was gone all the time, or even worse, bringing someone back here.”

“Yes, definitely,” Judy agreed, masking her delight. 

“I don’t think Cody will be too happy about this, though,” Nick said slyly.

“What do you mean?” Judy replied, on the defensive.

“He was into youuuu,” Nick sang scandalously.

“No, he was just being nice.”

“Carrots, you shut him down _hard_. Poor guy is gonna be reeling from how badly he got ignored for a while, you little heartbreaker,” Nick continued to tease.

“Yeah right! If he was flirting then he wasn’t being direct enough and it’s not my fault.”

“You can still go back and set things straight with him.”

Judy looked at Nick quizzically for a second before looking away and munching on a pawful of blueberries. “Nothing to set straight. I’m not interested. He’s nice and attractive but I guess he wasn’t my type. Nothing clicked. Plus, now I’m in a contract where I’m not allowed to enter a relationship.”

“Oh, it’s a contract now?”

“Lawyer was third or fourth on my list of career choices,” Judy replied jokingly. “So, did you feel anything for Violet?”

Nick shrugged. “I just started hanging around there a couple months ago. I thought she was appealing and interesting. We talked about our lives. Learned more about growing berries than I ever needed to. I guess I was planning on asking her out at some point but…” Nick paused after catching Judy’s gaze and becoming distracted by her attentive, violet eyes. Nick pulled his gaze away from her and stretched his arms out behind his head. “I dunno. Didn’t want to commit to it I guess,” he explained.

“I see,” Judy replied distractedly. She hadn’t been feeling herself ever since Violet asked Nick out. There were too many thoughts bubbling inside her brain, it caused her to lose focus. Even her stomach was becoming uncomfortable from all the worrying. “Nick, I think I’m going to turn in early for the night. It’s been a long day and I’m not feeling too well.”

“Alright. Just tell me if you need anything that’ll help you feel better.”

Unless Nick kept peace of mind in his medicine cabinet, Judy didn’t assume he had anything that would help her. Judy shook her head. “I’m okay. Thanks for sharing the berries. They’re yours, though, so eat them all if you want.”

Nick gave her a faint smile as she stood up from the couch. “Thanks, Fluff. Have a good night.”

“You too, Slick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brevity is the soul of wit. Hence the length of this chapter. I hope it was somewhat eventful, as this was a turning point for Judy's way of thinking. Had a lot of fun writing this setting and the extra characters!


End file.
